Yoon, First Korean Leader to Visit 'Riderjal·Lee Jun Martyr Memorial Hall'... Honoring Patriotic Spirit of Fallen Patriots

President Yoon Visits Ridderzaal with Prime Minister Mark Rutte
Ridderzaal, Site of the Universal Peace Congress and History of Sovereignty Restoration
Also Visits Memorial Hall at the Site of Martyr Lee Jun's Sacrifice

During his state visit to the Netherlands, President Yoon Suk-yeol became the first Korean head of state to visit the Ridderzaal (Hall of Knights) in The Hague on the 13th (local time). The Ridderzaal was the venue of the Second International Peace Conference in 1907, where Emperor Gojong dispatched special envoys Lee Jun, Lee Sang-seol, and Yi Wi-jong to protest the illegitimacy of the Eulsa Treaty.

On the afternoon of the same day, President Yoon had a working lunch with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, then moved to the historic Ridderzaal located in Binnenhof, the political center of The Hague. The Ridderzaal is currently undergoing renovation and is not open to the public, but the Dutch side understood the significance of the Ridderzaal in the history of Korea’s restoration of sovereignty and actively arranged the visit.

President Yoon Suk-yeol, on a state visit to the Netherlands, and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte visited the Ridderzaal (Hall of Knights), where the International Peace Conference was held 116 years ago, in The Hague on the 13th (local time).
[Photo by Yonhap News]

The presidential office reported that President Yoon and Prime Minister Rutte viewed exhibits related to the International Peace Conference held 116 years ago and honored the patriotic spirit of the martyrs who devoted themselves to the restoration of national sovereignty and independence.

Afterward, the two leaders exchanged farewells, and President Yoon visited the Lee Jun Martyrs Memorial Hall alone. The Lee Jun Martyrs Memorial Hall is the only Korean independence movement memorial site in Europe. It was established at the De Jong Hotel, where Lee Jun, who was dispatched as Emperor Gojong’s special envoy along with Lee Sang-seol and Yi Wi-jong to the Second International Peace Conference, died as a martyr. The Lee Jun Academy, a non-profit organization, has been operating the memorial since 1995.

This is also the first time a Korean president has visited this memorial. President Yoon viewed exhibits including the room used by martyr Lee Jun, who died abroad, and the credentials of special envoy to the International Peace Conference awarded by Emperor Gojong.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.